Lunar New Year Celebration to Celebrate the Year of the Horse

February 4, 2014

Lunar New Year 2014

Penn State Harrisburg will mark the Year of the Horse with a Lunar New Year Celebration on Friday, February 7 from 6 to 8:30 p.m. in the Olmsted Building auditorium. Local artisans and college students will present a variety of performances such as the Lion Dance, poetry recitals, Chinese classic dances, Korean songs, Chinese folk songs, ancient instruments and martial arts demonstrations.

Of the 370 international students on Penn State Harrisburg’s campus, 250 students celebrate Lunar New Year in their home countries, including China (192 students), Korea (43 students), Taiwan (6 students), Malaysia (3 students), Hong Kong (3 students), Singapore (2 students) and Vietnam (1 student).

“With more than half of the international student population at Penn State Harrisburg celebrating Lunar New Year, this celebration is an excellent way to help those students celebrate their culture so far from home,” said Anna Wei Marshall, international student adviser and coordinator of this event. “It is also a great way to bring the entire campus community together in a global interaction.”

Lunar New Year is an annual celebration marking the start of the new year according to the lunar calendar. It falls in the month of January or February, and each lunar new year is represented by one of the 12 creatures of the Chinese zodiac. This year, the Year of the Horse began on January 31. It is celebrated in eastern Asia and in territories and countries with significant Chinese populations, including Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.

Lunar New Year is also celebrated in a myriad of cities with Chinese communities in many countries around the world.